Three Septembers ago, I was in Thailand learning about the beauty of home. It wasn’t that our time there embodied anything remotely similar to how I lived back in America. On the contrary: we built a new church building, making every brick manually one at a time; we ate sticky rice with every meal; and…

There’s a sunflower planted on the side of the freeway in my hometown. I don’t know how it got there, or if it’s even real, but I don’t care. It’s become a yellow happy reminder that exuberant things can somehow dwell in concrete daily life. I didn’t think I’d need something as simple as a…

It’s been slightly over a year since my “go” became “stay.” I’ve long replaced the words nomad and wanderer with full-time nanny and neighbor. I still wonder what I’m doing with my life most days, but the deep questions are backed with commitment and slow growing roots in my hometown’s soil. Until very recently–like last week recently–I…

Be bold enough to rewrite the dream. You know which one I’m referring to: the one you’ve held onto too tightly. The one that only causes pain in your soul by burrowing its home there, though the pain is comfortable and normal all the same. The one that had you writing your future in permanent…

“So, when are you gonna write another blog post?” My sister asked, her back toward me as she washed dishes in the sink. Perched on my usual bar stool in her kitchen, I paused before answering her question. The truth was, I didn’t really know. “I’ve had one rolling around in my head for a few…

It’s been ages since I’ve sat alone in silence. Somewhere behind me a clock ticks, or perhaps I’ve mistaken that for the melting snow dripping from the roof. It’s a steady rhythm, one I’ve not heard in awhile. I recently attended a weekend retreat, surrounded by people every minute of the day. Community, many would…

We pulled up to my sister’s house, the driveway icy and slick. Our conversation had just begun, pent up words freely spilling in the dark toasty space of the car. My brother’s frustration so deeply echoed my own worst fears, and I wondered truly how people five years apart in age could be struggling with…

“It’s just going to take time.” I kept repeating the phrase to my sister as I explained the day’s painful events. “I know this season of life is for good, but it’s so hard.” I’ve officially decided to stop saying “I never thought life would be like this.” I’m slowly learning it rarely ever looks…

Someone recently told me to not be afraid to pray big prayers. To pray for the bold things, the quiet desires burrowed deep within. The thought has circled around in my head in recent weeks, but never long enough to actually put into action. I’m afraid to pray for big things. I’m afraid they won’t…

There was a time when a white blank page was a close friend. We went everywhere together–that blank page and me–inspiration and life just around each corner. The process of documenting live and chaotic events with typed words was thrilling to me. There was a time when my ukulele and I wandered down barren dirt paths…